Rotarians in Benoni learn more about human trafficking

The Benoni Van Ryn Rotary Club hosted guest speaker Adriaan (Andre) Jordaan at Benoni Country Club on July 19.

Jordaan recently wrote a book entitled Shielding Relatives.

The idea of writing a book started five years ago after Jordaan realised that many people aren’t informed about what is happening in their immediate environment.

Having done extensive work in forensics and security, Jordaan’s path lead him to studying social media and human trafficking and the dangers involved in both.

“Losing a child to crime or human trafficking is very different to losing a child to a terminal illness, for example,” said Jordaan.

Shielding Relatives starts by delving into the family unit, going in-depth about what it is and how it works.

It takes you on a journey from the physical to the eternal life and the effects that this has on the family unit.

Jordaan highlights the impact that social media has on children and how this can affect the family as a whole.

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He asked parents at the meeting to consider whether they really knew what their children were doing on social media.

According to Jordaan, about 50 per cent of all criminal activities happen in a place you call “home”.

About 62 per cent of parents won’t approve of what their children are looking at on the internet, he said.

“Once a child has a cellphone, they can be accessed by anyone,” Jordaan warned.

“Nothing is anonymous on phones – everything is visible; you just need to know where to look.”

Craving attention, following the example of adults, instant gratification, boredom or adventure are some of the reasons Jordaan lists as the cause of children surfing the internet.

“Often people get ‘catfished’ by a person who uses different profiles on social media.

“These people usually ask for an explicit picture of yourself, then use that picture to blackmail you.”

According to Jordaan, more than 5 000 human trafficking cases have been registered in South Africa to date.

“People use the Apps on your phone to trace you,” he said.

“They can trace you at any given time because of the information or the terms or conditions you agree to when installing an App.”

Jordaan mentioned metadata – data which reveals where a person is, what time they were there and on which date.

“Criminals also use these programmes to gain access to their victims.

“Another contributing factor is people having their location on when taking photographs. You should rather ensure this is switched off.

“If you can save one life by thinking just a bit differently that’s all that matters.”

Jordaan would like to host workshops to educate the community and create awareness, at churches and schools, about the dangers of social media and human trafficking.

For more information, email Jordaan at anlin@mweb.co.za

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